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Bus Terminal Diner
Categories: Restaurants Diners Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Diners, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
1606 Danforth AveToronto, ON M4C
Neighbourhood: The Danforth
(416) 463-4680
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 8 am - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Breakfast, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
21 reviews for Bus Terminal Diner
Review Highlights
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"Our waitress Lisa is fantastic." In 4 reviews -
"Here for the first time and loved it." In 3 reviews -
"...old school diner furniture, old vinyl record covers on the..." In 4 reviews
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21 reviews in English
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Review from Cheri D.
3/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
I really loved this place!
Stopped in last weekend to try a new breakfast place. I'm SO glad we did! Found parking on the street right out front. Although there is a super convenient Green P right next door. Always a bonus.
Atmosphere does a lot for me. And i gotta say, this place has atmosphere up the wazoo. Loved the decor! Old records all over the walls, the diner counter with the faded, old looking sign complete with retro pricing, and the old chrome and laminate tables and chairs (of which i have my own set in the kitchen but my Mum re-apholstered the chairs in the 80's so they've lost much of their cool factor. Shame)
We ordered the standard and classic breakfast; Eggs over medium, rye toast, hashbrowns and criiiispy bacon. Ou yeah. I LURVE breakie. It came fast and hot. I was happy. Now, did it past the taste test too? You betcha! Delish!
The servers were attentive and i had my little teapot refilled with hot water a couple of times.
I can't wait to go back! -
Review from Adam G.
Toronto, ON
Angry server alert!
Fifth time here but first time served by angry unsmiling server....
Ouch!
All others are really pleasant...
Five minute coffee delivery, dirty cup, unsmiling 'you know what you want?' demeanor....
It's okay to have a bad day but please do not punish me please... -
Review from Niamh F.
Toronto, ON
3/14/2012
Our family love going there. The food is consistent and good value for what you get. Staff are always friendly.
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Review from Nicole M.
Vancouver, BC
11/30/2010
I was excited to try this place after seeing some photos of the interior, which is actually quite cute. In the end, it is typical diner fare - nothing out of the ordinary.
I had eggs over-easy, back bacon, toast and potatoes. I didn't love the potatoes (kind of hard and not well cooked). Everything else was fairly average, including the coffee.
My partner had a milkshake and a reuben - I believe he was more impressed than I, but we agreed that we could get an equally good breakfast elsewhere.Listed in: Toronto Brunch - Hot or Not…
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Review from Laz C.
Toronto, ON
2/22/2011
Bus Terminal Diner is the kind of place I wish I could visit everyday. It's cheap and unpretentious with reliably delicious breakfast food. I completely agree with the other reviewers that are raving about Lisa. I have to say that she alone earns the place an extra star; Lisa is quick, full of warmth and totally awesome!
If you're looking for a relaxed home style diner in Toronto, this is as good as it gets. -
Review from Peter L.
Toronto, ON
12/6/2011
Mediocre food, mean service and nothing outstanding otherwise. The breakfast is not made fresh, the lunch is passable and the dinner is mediocre at best. It is as generic as it gets, with nothing special about any of the dishes they serve. It's sad too: this place re-opened with an updated interior and a hope for an improvement on how it used to be, but it is still passable on the Danforth strip for places like the Sunset Grill right next door.
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Review from Meeps L.
Toronto, ON
11/4/2010
I've always passed by this place and wondered. People, wonder no more it's a very good greasy spoon.
It also cured my hangover.
Your basic greazy spoon with lots of options. I ordered and ate the biggie breakfast (Halloween hangover). It was perfect!
Sure I could make better hotcakes, but my head hurt and i was tired. I'm happy to pay $9.99 for 3 eggs, toast, bacon, home fries and hotcakes.
I'm coming back.
Also, we had a great server, attentive! -
Review from Kat F.
How have I never reviewed this place?? This morning when I visited I was desperately trying to remember if I liked the homefries here or thought they were "meh" so I looked up my own review for reference, and there wasn't one, so here we go: for reference, the homefries are dynamite, but definitely a vehicle for some ketchup.
As others have mentioned, longtime French-Canadian (come on, she must be) Lisa is the bomb! She'll kick your ass with kindness and a whole lotta sass all at once. I would say ask for her, but chances are if you're visiting between the hours of open & close, she'll be working.
The diner has very recently been renovated and some of the original vinyl stools are gone, but get a kick out of the original menu board with old school pricing from the 1960s. $0.20 for coffee, $0.40 for french fries, etc. Ahh, the good ol' days. -
Review from sarah l.
9/29/2009 5 Check-ins Here
"I am really happy right now," I said aloud to Kat F as we ate Bus Terminal food this morning. When I was in high school, a bus terminal lunch was whatever you could get from the vending machines at the bus terminal in St. Catharines (usually cookies or chips and a pop. Sometimes Andrew and I would get cookies and chips and split).
This diner is top notch. Nestled between a bank and a parking lot at Danforth and Coxwell, I felt happy here this morning eating greasy breakfast, and said so.
The good:
- HASHBROWNS!!! These were GOOD hashbrowns, and if you have perused my breakfast list, you will know that I'm a harsh judge when it comes to morning potatoes.
- My medium soft poached eggs were perfectly done.
- There is a parking lot right next door! A Toronto first for a breakfast joint.
- Cheap - it was $17 for two breakfasts
- Good enough coffee that comes free with your breakfast
- They have takeout!
The bad:
- my crispy bacon was flimsy and fatty and next time I would order a different meat
- It's probably rammed on the weekend. It's pretty empty at 1000 on a Tuesday though.
The weird-and-awesome:
Lisa. Our waitress Lisa is fantastic. She wears sunglasses inside and laughed at the menu misspellings as much as we did. She was entertainment to the max.
Would I go back here again?
I might go back tomorrow.Listed in: Breakfasts, List of great dumps
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Review from Jason K.
1/10/2011
- i used to stop in here whenever i was passing by the coxwell ttc station for a snack.
- the servers are really nice and dont mind if you just hang out all day.
- servicable diner with all your standard greasy spoon diner fare.
- all day breakfast. frozen hamburgers. poutine with yellow cheddar.
- nothing to truly right home about. -
Review from David M.
Toronto, ON
3/14/2010
With great anticipation (avg of 4.5 stars!), I took my wife here this morn.
Pros:
-cheap (under $17 for 2)
-authentic
-fast!
-Lisa (bubbly waitress)
-greenP parking at door
Cons:
-omelettes made on grill, rather than pan
-homefries were par-boiled (too much) then quickly deep fried
-typically bad but drinkable diner coffee
NEXT time, I'll try the new home-made waffle ("not Eggo anymore" - Lisa), and I may go there for lunch this week. Stay tuned, as they say.
(BTD lost .1 stars for putting straws in their water glasses, but gained it back for the fresh pineapple slice with the fruit garnish.)
Cute aside - I asked our waitress "are you Lisa?" She was, and I told her I knew from her good reviews on Yelp. She was excited about this, but "only has a phone", so she said she'd check it out on her sister's computer.
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Quick edit: went back the next day for lunch. Triple-layer grilled cheese on rye, and both regular and sweet potato fries were good. (Regular were better.) -
Review from Natalie W.
Toronto, ON
11/18/2009
I'd decided this morning I'd walked by this place one time too many.
The exterior, truly diner-like, exposes some of the quirky vintage records propped up against the windows, which reminds me of the long gone (from west Durham anyways) Melanie Pringles.
It seems I walked in just as they opened and was greeted by the wonderful waitress in sunglasses. I resisted the temptation to sit at the counter and thus avoided my cliché movie moment. But I digress,
All-Day Breakfast is where it's at. True, it's hard to mess with, but when it's good, it's good. Real potatoes for homefries, eggs nicely over-medium, sausage, rye, fruit & a good coffee.
If anything, the mismatched vinyl chairs & tables and the regulars that were just settling in for their morning coffee was enough to bring me back. -
Review from Michelle V.
Toronto, ON
4/19/2009 5 Check-ins Here
Having lived in the area for well over a year, I have always walked briskly by this place deeming it nothing short of a greasy spoon dive. Shady at best. Greasy spoon, that it is. A dive? Hardly!
As I finally walked into the diner (whose exterior made good use of the brown and orange colour combo of the 70s), my eyes danced about the decor from its vinyl record sleeves that lined the walls to the man holding a chicken (?) in the window. The mismatched tables and chairs (some of which were taped up vinyl) added to the diner's character. And finally I knew I was in for a treat when the server said "sit anywhere you wish - it's a game of musical tables!"
With every diner, I must try the all-day breakfast (nothing fancy: scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon - today was sausage, potatoes aka Bus-taters and toast). Though the potatoes didn't rock my world, the food was very tasty and super cheap and the service was ridiculously fast and friendly.
Here's a game though - look at their menu and find all the typos! It's kinda cute and endearing.
The downside to discovering this gem so close to home is that I discovered this gem so close to home :)Listed in: Woodbine and Danforth - Yup,…
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Review from Tara A.
9/22/2009 1 photo
Once you get past the line up at the door, you will feel as though you are in a flash back to the times when milkshakes were $.10 and you could eat until your hearts content for under a buck. (of course you can't but you will feel like that). The decor is retro-chic. Records plastered on the ceiling and walls... old movie photos framed and hung absent mindedly... the tables are mix n' match of vintage furniture from what would appear to be value village. It's spectacular.
I always head there with my friends for brunch. The food is delicious... most of the staff are friendly and the price is unbeatable. I always get grilled cheese and fries (not so much a breakfast but its suits me just fine!). My friends get Omelette's and we drink Coffee for hours.
Go for the decor, stay for the food.Listed in: Favourite Brunch Joints
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Review from Kim B.
ON
1/16/2009 15 photos
Want a "vintage" diner with out the hipster-douche bags? This is the place.
Sure, it's way out east, but it's right at Coxwell station, and sometimes a trip outside the rectangle that is downtown-Toronto is good for you.
When I went my friend and I had really great french toast, for super cheap. All the food is cheap, it's a diner after all, so you get pretty much what you expect (greasy, fatty, great portions for cheap...and tasty).
But what I liked best about this place, even more than the decor-- which featured a dragon head, a flying pig, old school diner furniture, old vinyl record covers on the ceiling and old black and white photos of old celebrities (most of whom I had NO IDEA who they were)-- was the feel of the place. The friendly, calm-yet-quick, service, and a place where people will recognize you as a person not just a dollar sign (our server Sonia was so great...especially considering they were trying to clean up/close up but never kicked us out or gave us dirty looks or anything).
Oh and I also love that they still have their original menu from like, 1957 up on the wall so people can jokingly ask for a small fries for 15 cents.Listed in: CHEAP Toronto, My FIVE Star Toronto
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Review from Isabel R.
Toronto, ON
1/10/2011
Solid reasonably priced diner. Definitely opt for the traditional sandwiches, egg combos, omelettes. Servers are attentive with coffee, which is always a good thing. The only reason I do not rate it any higher is that it's realy nothing out of the ordinary. The food is decent, the prices are decent, but the seating is kind of awkward as is the layout. I would go back if I was in the area, but I definitely would not go out of the way
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Review from Tammy H.
East York, ON
Here for the first time and loved it. A true diner experience. Great service, great food. I will be back.
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Review from SNACKe R.
Toronto, ON
7/31/2010
I have tried this place twice in the last 2 years. The first time, the service was so surly (and not in a good way) that it took me while to be curious enough to give it another try.
Recently, I went back and the food was really second rate. If you can't do pancakes and coffee well, what's left? That's right, nothing. -
Review from Mike C.
Toronto, ON
12/23/2009
Greasy spoon, quick food, classic diner coffee. Good times.
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Review from Sheila B.
Toronto, ON
2/26/2010
**Snowy Toronto morning, got the kids to school a bit late...was feeling hungry grabbed a People Mag. and went for Breakie, this place as other reviewers have said is a retro diner been there since the 50's maybe before
**had the 3 poached eggs, rye toast, ham came w/homefries, 2 slices of pineapple, one slice of melon and wedge of orange.
**The service was great, as usual, wish I knew her name but she is always there. What more can I say everything was fresh, the potatoes were good.....they didn't screw it up.
@12.95 incl.tax and $3 tip... -
Review from John G.
East York, ON
12/12/2009
After having been advised this was a better place than next door's "Sunset Grill ( which I would not recommend as it is not up to the standard of the other franchise places) I finally stopped by for Breakfast this morning. Reminded me of the old fashioned diner of years ago. Great food - prices - service - dated atmosphere but thats fine. Great place to take the family, there were two families there with kids today and it all added to the atmosphere. Took a peek at the regular menu, and it certainly looked adequate so will give it a try and will report back.
